AFTER a brief lull, Russians are back in the reckoning. Sergey Karjakin, who stretched champion Magnus Carlsen at the classical FIDE World Championships in New York last December and won the blitz title in Doha recently, leads the way.

RUSSIAN Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin was all smiles after he turned the tables on classical world champion Magnus Carlsen to win his maiden World Blitz Championship at the Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena in Doha last week.

World classical champion Magnus Carlsen had an unimpressive outing at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, where he failed to defend his rapid title, finishing third, and came second in blitz.

AT 47, VASSILY Ivanchuk is one of the oldest players in the sport, but he showed how age has not at all slowed him down and how well he has adapted to the shorter version of the game by dethroning world champion Magnus Carlsen to win the rapid title last week.

INDIA’S first Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who won his maiden FIDE World Championship in 2000 and then ruled the sport from 2007 to 2013, is regarded as one of the best players in the game’s history.